REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Branding is one of the most important days on a ranch and that's no different at Copeland & Sons Herefords. It's a day to check all the cattle and to come together as family and friends to accomplish the task at hand.

Copeland & Sons Herefords in Nara Visa, New Mexico, is participating in DTN's View From the Range series, where DTN will follow a year at the ranch to give readers an inside look at how the ranch operates and cares for its animals.

This segment in the series looks at branding day and why it's an important day on the ranch.

PREPARATION FOR WORKING CATTLE

Branding day is important for all western ranches, but preparation must happen for several days previous, including gathering medicines and supplies as well as having a good game plan for gathering and working cattle.

"We've had many of the same family friends help us for four generations. We want the whole family to be involved to learn and appreciate this way of life," said Cliff Copeland. The Copelands are a multi-generational family operation, but Cliff said if the youngest generation doesn't get hands-on experience at the ranch, the continuation of the legacy could be at risk.

"We couldn't do this day without all our good friends helping," said Matt Copeland. "It's truly accomplished through neighboring by some great people." Neighboring in the ranching community is defined as those in the area helping each other out when a job needs done. Everyone helps each other on their given branding days and the Copeland crew all comes from within an hour of their ranch. "We've all worked together so long, we know what to do and we are always ready to add to the group," said Cliff.

GETTING STARTED EARLY

As the crew gathered at Matt and Alyssa Copeland's ranch house for breakfast at 5 a.m. on branding day, they caught up quickly with each other, but knew they had work to get done. Once breakfast was complete, the group saddled their horses and went to the corral for the complete meeting with the Copelands to see what was expected for the coming hours.

Some loaded their horses on trailers to drive to pastures farther away and trail the cattle in, others left on horseback from the corral to gather in closer pastures. A smaller group of cow-calf pairs had already been collected and brought to the working pens for the crew. Once calves were sorted from cows, branding began.

The Copelands use a small branding chute for branding the registered herd with the Rafter C brand. Some of the registered herd receives brands during spring branding and others will receive it later. The commercial herd is branded with a 9 on the shoulder and 9/ on the hip.

Commercial calves receive this brand when they are young and most of the cows in that part of the herd will carry the same brand. On occasion a cow from the registered herd will be moved to the commercial herd if her calves' performance is not up to par with the registered contemporary group.

Commercial calves are all dehorned, but registered calves are not. "We leave the horns on the registered cattle. It added a few more things to do when we work them, but we want our daughters (Cally Jo, 3, and Kinley, 1) to know why we brand and why the horns are on the cows," Alyssa said.

Western tradition does hold true at some ranches, including Copelands' ranch. They are one of only a few who will horn brand the registered cows. It's a permanent identification which will last their whole life. This is done after their first calf is weaned. Horn branding is how cows were identified prior to using tags. Small branding irons are used to put the cow's identification number on the horn. These same cows will receive the Rafter C brand on their hip at that time, as they have proved their place to continue in the herd. Waiting for the cows to age gives the horns more growth as well. When the heifers are a year old, horns are sloped or cut at an angle. This allows the horns to look more natural as they grow out.

The western tradition continues branding day when calves are roped and dragged to the working crew where they receive vaccinations, are castrated if a bull, and branded. The legacy continues with the crew: those roping on branding day range in age from 8 to 70.

"Getting everyone involved is what we want to do," said Cliff. "Roping, holding, vaccinating, castrating, branding, cooking lunch, there's a job for anyone around here and everyone working together is what makes it work."

As branding day wraps up, the crew enjoyed lunch and then made sure all the cattle were trailed back to their respective pastures. It's easy to complete when there is a good crew doing the work according to Matt. The western legacy continues for another season.

Editor's Note: To see previous stories in this series, go to:

-- "New Mexico Ranch Shares View From Range," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Copeland & Sons Herefords Raise Cattle to Provide for Family, Customers, Environment," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "New Mexico Ranch Relies on Cows with Good Mothering Ability," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "New Mexico Ranchers Have Recorded Performance Data to Measure Herd's Progress," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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